Parachuting

Kaleigh Wittenburg: It’s every kid’s dream to fly

Kaleigh Wittenburg is one of the youngest competitors at the 2nd FAI World Indoor Skydiving Championships in Montreal, Canada. We asked her to tell us more about herself and her sport.

Hi Kaleigh, nice to meet you. How long have you been flying?I’m 13 now, and I’ve been flying since I was six-years old

Do you remember your first flight?Yes I do. I was in the Orlando iFly tunnel, and I just wanted to keep flying!

Do your parents skydive?My Dad is a skydiver, and my mum is too. So I was sort of born into the sport.

Have you done skydiving too?No I have not.

How many days a week do you train?On a normal school week, when there are no competitions coming up, we train three times a week, half an hour each time. When competition comes up, I train every single day for a week. Half an hour a day.

What discipline do you compete in?We’re doing Junior Freestyle. Basically you combine tricks that you have learnt and put them into a routine, depending on what you think the judges will like.

How do the learn the tricks, and who teaches you?There are a lot of great flyers. My Dad is my main coach, he is a real inspiration. He pushes you to do well.

Are you one of the youngest flyers here?I’m one of the youngest here, because 13 is the minimum age for Juniors.

What about other people in the sport?Kyrah Poh [from Singapore], I like competing against her. She is one of the best competitors, we’ve been friends for a while. She is super good, and I like to learn from her.

What do your friends at school think of you doing this sport, and competing in a World Championships?Only my closest friends know, because it’s kind of hard to explain the sport. They don’t know what it is really!

And finally, what does it feel like in the tunnel?It’s great. It’s every kid’s dream to fly.

The 2nd FAI World Indoor Skydiving Championships is on 20-22 October 2017 in Laval, Montreal. Follow the action including the Livestream throughout the competition at www.wisc2017.com